THE COLLECTOR
2 out of 5 stars

another movie to add into the torture-porn sub categorization of the horror movie genre! this one was a dud in some sense, but extra points for good cinematography! ;)



arkin (josh stewart…AKA the movie star that hooks up with courtney cox on dirt) is your average window and door repairman. little do his marks know that he’s a jewelry thief in disguise! he cases one particular home inhabitated by michael chase, a jewelry broker, and has intel on a rare diamond stored in his vault. so, arkin decides to break into the house one night, but then realizes someone has already brutually tortured michael and his wife, their little girl hannah is missing, and that this someone is known as “the collector” who likes to keep one particular person in a big red box. (very sadistic…) this collector has also set up traps ALL OVER the house i.e. open bear traps all over the dining room; the fish-hook laundry room; the acidic floor in another daughter’s room; even pins sticking out of the ear piece if someone were to pick up a phone! this guy has thought of EVERYTHING… there’s no way out. well, arkin decides to put that to the test…


my favorite parts of this movie are the traps, just like in the saw movies. they’re simple yet well thought-out. the parts i hated was the storyline and lack there of. who is the collector, and why does he collect people? why did he target the chase family? what is the meaning of the collection? NONE of these questions are addressed, and so this movie becomes another dud. it’s quite unfortunate because it had the potential of becoming something creepy/scary AND good… the cinematography is actually quite good, as the film shows different perspectives of arkin’s POV as well as the collector’s POV and sometimes both by showing an angle shot from the roof’s POV! (something rarely done)